Swings/Swing Characters
Some productions of Cats give the swings their own distinctive costumes and often their own character names. The practical application for this is that one performer may cover 4-5 small roles, and rather than have 5 separate costumes, he can wear the same swing costume for all the roles. This is also particularly useful when a female swing has to cover a male character, or vice versa. In Australian-based productions, the swing characters appear onstage in certain scenes and interact with the audience. In UK-based productions, the characters are not given names and only appear onstage while covering a named role, except for special occasions. The UK Swings often appear in the official photocall as a means of giving the performers their due credit, however these images do not represent the performance. Since the 2013 tour, recent UK productions use the Electra and George (Palladium Pouncival) costumes for swings, and additional swings mix and match elements of extra costumes for photoshoot costumes. The Oslo 1985 production named their swing characters "Kvesesta", "Potefar", and "Godnattakatt", as well as crediting a "Young Grizabella/Swing". London Swings In the early years of the Original London production, there was an ensemble of un-named kitten characters, some of whom grew into named roles and others became swing costumes. Characters were cast strictly to height, the adults being notably taller than the kittens. This led to issues of costume fitting when a short swing would need to cover a tall character or vice versa. Each of the six swings had a distinctive costume, but if they have official names, they are unknown. For ease of reference they have been given nicknames by fans. The Swings usually featured in the photocall for the brochure in the big group shots until the late 1990s. However Summer Strallen, a swing wearing NBQ, featured in the 2001 photos. "NBQ" This tall girl looks somewhat like a pale Cassandra, she is often called "Greycat" or "Nameless Brown Queen - NBQ" depending on the colouring of her costume which varied from silver to tan. She is often used when the tall swing needs to play a kitten, such as Etcetera or Jemima. Kitten Design 3 NBQ.jpg|"Kitten" design, swing "NBQ" / "Greycat" Finale L9611 crop 3.jpg|Golden NBQ above/right of Rumpleteaser Finale Bomba Swing NBQ UK8906 41.jpg|Greycat / NBQ UK Tour 1989 Swing NBQ Summer.jpg|Summer Strallen as NBQ, 2001 Swing NBQ L9712.png|London, 1997 Etc Swings NBQ AJ L9712.png|NBQ, Etcetera, AJ. London 1997 "AJ" This Swing looks similar to Jemima but with much less colour and more white on her body, sometimes called "Almost Jemima - AJ". She has been worn on occasions such as a female swing playing Carbucketty. Kitten Design AJ.jpg|"Kitten" design, Swing "AJ" L9011 swing Beth Robson.jpg|Beth Robson as AJ, London 1990 Etc Swings NBQ AJ L9712.png|NBQ, Etcetera, AJ. London 1997 Swing AJ L9712.png|London, 1997 "Tabbygirl" The last female swing looks rather like Victor, a dark brown Tabby, sometimes known as "Tabbygirl". She is often worn by the swing who covers more vocal heavy / adult roles, so appears more mature than a kitten. Finale Swing Tabbygirl UK8906 42.jpg|Tabbygirl UK Tour 1989 L9411 Swings Etc.jpg|AJ, Tabbygirl, Etcetera, London 1994 Swing Tabbygirl l9011_40.jpg|London 1990 Swing Tabbygirl l8806_37.jpg|London, 1988 Swing Tabbygirl l9211_40.jpg|London 1992 Swings l9305_35.jpg|AJ, Tabbygirl, NBQ, London 1993 The three male swings are harder to identify, as their unitard markings varied enormously and sometimes looked very like the ensemble boys. Their wig designs however were more consistent, but not necessarily paired with the same costume design. "Patches" The first of the boys has very defined patches in his makeup, and his unitard often resembles Admetus; however he's kitten height where Admetus is usually one of the tallest males. Makeup Swing Boy.jpg|Patches Makeup chart Kitten Design 2.jpg|"Kitten" design used for swing - "Patches" L8709 10 Swing.jpg|Tantomile and Patches, London 1987 L9608 swing5.jpg|Patches, London 1996 Swing Patches L9712.png|London, 1997 Swings Patches Caramel L9712.png|Patches, Caramel, London 1997 "Calico" The second swing boy sometimes resembles a male Etcetera, a calico male (which in real cats is a genetic anomaly, Calico cats are 99.9% female), with orange and grey stripes, and a strong orange and a black patch in his bangs. L9608 swing4.jpg|Calico, London 1996 L8806 39 Swing.jpg|Calico, London 1988 L9011 33 Swing.jpg|Calico, London 1990 L9211 34 Swing.jpg|Calico, London 1992 "Caramel" The last male swing is a tall boy often in rich brown and caramel colours, and can be mistaken for Victor. L9608 swing3.jpg|Caramel, London 1996 L9211 39 Swing.jpg|Caramel, London 1992 Swing Caramel Walking Cover l9206.png|Caramel, Walking Cover, London 1992 Swings Patches Caramel L9712.png|Patches, Caramel, London 1997 Walking Cover In addition to the Swings in London, the Walking Cover often appears in cast photos. However he does not need his own costume - the two roles he covers appear in their "Song" costumes, Old Deuteronomy and Gus. The walking cover can wear the "Basic Deuteronomy" costume worn by Old Deut for the opening number, or Asparagus' ensemble costume without causing any visible doubling up of characters. Swing Caramel Walking Cover l9206.png|Caramel, Walking Cover, London 1992 UK Tour Swings "Lightning Electra" Electra Alice Cornwell UK16 01.jpg|UK Tour 2016 Electra Alice Cornwell UK16 02.jpg|UK Tour 2016 Electra George Alice Cornwell Dane Quixall UK16 01.jpg|UK Tour 2016 Named Swings The 1989 Australian Tour, and subsequent productions modelled on it, named all the swings, which can cause confusion when comparing to other productions as most of the names used have appeared as full ensemble characters elsewhere. The swings, usually listed as "CATS Chorus" (not to be confused with the term referring to booth singers), each has their own costume, name, and personality, and function as on-stage ensemble, filling in large group dances and singing ensemble, unless the actor is required to cover another role, or is off themselves, in which case the chorus character will be cut for that performance. Admetus, Bill Bailey, Carbucketty, Electra, Etcetera, Exotica, George, Jemima, Jonathan, Murad, Noilly Prat, Olivia, Quaxo and Victor have all been used as names for swings. Admetus Tumble Admetus Pounce Etc Mungo Rumple World Tour 01.jpg|World Tour 2001 (2nd from top) Admetus Korea 2008.png|South Korea, 2008 Admetus Australia 2010.jpg|Australia 2010 Bill Bailey The performer usually covers the acrobatic male roles such as Mungojerrie and Tumblebrutus. Bill Bailey Dai Wenchao China 2012 02.jpg|China 2012 Carbucketty "A playful cat, often jumping around." The performer usually covers the dance-heavy male roles such as Mistoffelees, Plato / Macavity, Pouncival. Carbucketty Matthew Jackson Aus 1989 01.png|Australia, 1989 Carbucketty World Tour 2001 01.jpg|World Tour, 2001 Carby Niu Junjie China 2012 01.jpg|China 2012 Carby Niu Junjie China 2012 02.jpg|China 2012 Electra "An orange-and-black kitten who is a good friend of Etcetera and also likes Rum Tum Tugger." Electra Belinda Allchin Aus Circus Opening Night.jpg|Australia, 1999 Electra Mischana Dellora Cornish Aus 2009 01.jpg|Mischana Dellora-Cornish as Electra, Australia 2009 Electra Mischana Dellora Cornish Aus 2010 02.jpg|Electra, Australia, 2010 Electra Zhao Zixuan China 2012 01.jpg|Electra, China 2012 Electra Kathryn Sgroi Asia 2014 01.jpg|Asian Tour, 2014 Electra Bree Langridge Aus 2016 01.jpg|Australia, 2016 Etcetera "A happy, energetic kitten, very infatuated with Rum Tum Tugger." The performer usually covers the dance-heavy female roles such as Victoria, Cassandra and Tantomile. Etcetera Danielle Goullet Aus 1989 01.png|Australia, 1989 Korea 2008 Etcetera01.jpg|South Korea, 2008 Etcetera Yu Man China 2012 01.jpg|China 2012 Etcetera Yu Man China 2012 02.jpg|China 2012 Exotica The name "Exotica" was first used to create a cameo role for Femi Taylor in the 1998 film of Cats - in this instance Exotica was not a swing. However the name has since been used for named swings in large productions. Exotica costume swap.jpg|1998 film George "Young male cat, lively and mischievous." The performer usually covers the vocal-heavy adult male roles such as Munkustrap and Rum Tum Tugger. George Justin McNamara Aus 1989 01.png|Australia, 1989 George Justin McNamara Aus 1989 02.png|Australia, 1989 Jellicle Ball Group Aus 2009 01.jpg|Australasian Tour, 2009, George front George Naibao Tuxia China 2012 01.jpg|China 2012 George Naibao Tuxia China 2012 02.jpg|China 2012 George Marina Bay Sands Singapore 2015.jpg|Australia Tour Singapore 2015 Jemima "A young female cat who is full of curiosity of the outside world." The performer usually covers the female kitten roles such as Sillabub. Korea Tour 2003 Jemima.jpg|South Korea 2003. Design later used for Olivia Jemima Chen Yumeng China 2012 01.jpg|China 2012. Very similar design but not a duplicate of Sillabub in the same production. Jonathan Jonathan Shanghai 2003.jpg|World Tour 2003. Same design as used for Swing-George. Murad "A small male cat that often appears in high places." The performer usually covers the adult male roles such as Skimbleshanks and Alonzo. Korea Tour 2003 Plato Noilly Murad Quaxo Cass.jpg|South Korea 2003, top right. Murad Liu Haiwen China 2012 01.jpg|China 2012 Noilly Prat "A charming young female cat." The performer usually covers the adult female roles such as Demeter. Korea Tour 2003 Plato Noilly Murad Quaxo Cass.jpg|South Korea 2003, top centre. Noilly Prat Liu Shiyu China 2012 01.jpg|China 2012 Noilly Prat Liu Shiyu China 2012 02.jpg|China 2012 Olivia "A young female cat." The performer usually covers the adult female roles. Olivia Aus2010 1.jpg|Erin James as Olivia, Australia 2010 Olivia Ding Ting China 2012 02.jpg|China 2012 Quaxo "A young male cat." The performer usually covers the adult male roles such as Munkustrap and Rum Tum Tugger. The name Quaxo has also appeared as an ensemble character in early productions, and the name is used as an alternate identity for Mistoffelees in London-based productions. Munkus Ensemble 2 Shanghai 2003.jpg|Munkustrap, Pouncival (left), Quaxo (right) and Electra, World Tour 2003 Korea Tour 2003 Plato Noilly Murad Quaxo Cass.jpg|South Korea 2003, Bottom left. Quaxo Ranjeet Starr Aus 2008 01.jpg|Australasian Tour 2008 Quaxo Australia 2010.jpg|Australia 2010 Quaxo Mao Haifei China 2012 01.jpg|China 2012 Quaxo Mao Haifei China 2012 02.jpg|China 2012 Victor The performer usually covers the elderly male roles such as Old Deuteronomy and Gus. Kitten Pile 1 World Tour 2001 01.jpg|From Top: Victor, Quaxo, Jemima, Victoria, Sillabub, Electra, World Tour, 2001 Victor China 2012 01.jpg|China, 2012 * Category:Chorus Cat Category:Toms Category:Queens Category:Characters